SF Site Interviews Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman in “Dividing the Rewards"

David Mathew with SF Site spoke with Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman for a lengthy interview, first individually and then together.

I. Ellen Kushner
"I'd always wanted to be a writer, ever since I was a little girl," Ellen Kushner said, "because I thought books were the most wonderful thing on earth, and therefore to write books would be singing in the heavenly choir. I went to what we call college and you call university, and about two months before graduation I thought: Oh my God, what am I going to do? I tried to give myself a good liberal arts education. I was interested in theatre, I was interested in Medieval literature -- but I never studied the novel. So when I sat down to write one, I didn't have the slightest idea what I was doing. What does a writer do? Well, they become waitresses, but I couldn't do that because I'm too clumsy and I'm too rude. When I don't like people, they know it. Everyone said, you're in New York City now; why don't you go into publishing? My writing teacher in college had said, editors are the enemy; they're out to destroy everything you do. But I couldn't figure out anything else to do. So I thought I'll go and learn the tricks of the enemy! I got a job as an assistant, and it was a right-place-at-the-right-time thing: I knew a lot about fantasy, and they needed someone who knew about fantasy, and I got promoted very quickly. I went to Pocket Books as a fantasy editor. I hated every minute of it; I just wanted to write. Eventually I quit to write my first novel. Now of course it's like the doctor who goes in to have an operation: I know everything that can possibly go wrong!"

Read the full interview on SF Site at “Dividing The Rewards: An Interview with Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman.”